Second Life Israel Protests Draw International Media

by Ernest Newman

An independent blog report on Gaza protests at SL Israel sim was picked up by major international commercial mass media and widely reported, focusing mainly on the most negative aspects of some protest rhetoric, and largely ignoring the more positive aspects of dialog that ensued.

While Tel Aviv sim was immediately shut down by right wing ultra-nationalists to prevent any criticism of Israeli policy, Beth Odets, the principal manager of the Israel sim chose to try to keep that sim open, allowing avitars to congregate at a boardwalk by the beach to discuss the attacks on Gaza, and the broader issues of the Israel / Palestine conflict. 

On some occasions, the exchanges got so heated that she was compelled to ban or eject some elements, and to briefly shut Israel down, but she has also repeatedly re-opened it and continued to allow the demonstrations. 

Ms. Odets has gotten a lot of heat for this from the extreme right, due to the media coverage, for her supposedly being a "jew hater" for allowing criticism and debate about the Gaza attacks. She has appealed for calm and a voluntary moratorium on demonstrations, while she attempts to negotiate a formal debate as a major media event.

Initial protests were large, and very raucous, including missles being lobbed over the border into the sim, and some very hateful provocations coming from both "sides" of the issues.  That calmed down considerably after a few days, into a more long term presence of mainly just a few peaceful demonstrators, attempting to engage in dialog and appeals for peace.

However, they have been confronted primarily by right wing ultra-nationalist extremists spewing violent, hateful, racist, sexist and generally abusive rhetoric in "defense" of Israeli policy.  And some of the protesters showing up have also contributed their own share of equally vicious talk, either in deliberate provocation of such elements, or in response to their baiting. 

Google Second Life Israel for more links to other major media coverage.  Faux "News" was particularly disgusting.

http://nwn.blogs.com/nwn/2009/01/israel-attack-o.html

http://online.wsj.com/video/second-life-a-new-weapon-of-war-in-middle-east-conflict/1BF97340-B5CC-4DC1-AC88=11CECC0E21EC.html

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TIBET - SIGN THE PETITION

CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO SIGN THE

Petition to Chinese President Hu Jintao:

As citizens around the world, we call on you to show restraint and respect for human rights in your response to the protests in Tibet, and to address the concerns of all Tibetans by opening meaningful dialogue with the Dalai Lama. Only dialogue and reform will bring lasting stability. China's brightest future, and its most positive relationship with the world, lies in harmonious development, dialogue and respect.

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UNIONS 2.0: How a "Virtual" Protest Can Bring Us to a "Real" Success

by Barillo Kohnke


Barillo is a member of IBM ITALY National Works Council, and the Italian Delegate to the IBM European Works Council, representing all 9000 employees from 11 IBM group companies.


photos supplied by Eremia Woodbury

(please scroll down page for additional Italian language version of this article).

For many years we are asking to ourselves how to rebuild the trust to the unions, because many workers consider them as "obsolete" and "ineffective". The low level of participation in strikes and union initiatives must open our eyes to the need fo rethinking our mode of being unionists.....a way that cannot be hinged on fights and mental schemes of the 20th century, but without leaving anything from our great history. We must build an union that is renewing itself to approach the new challanges that we are facing today. The goal is to find new tools to communicate with our workers, to create participation, to surpass new problems coming with globalization (job off-shoring, vendorizations, etc) and at the same time involve young employees, teleworkers, employees out of offices, and the subsidiarian companies.
What we are trying to do inside IBM, one of the biggest corporations worldwide, can become a model to build a Union 2.0.
These are two main points:
- in a "globally integrated company" scenario, only with a global union alliance we can confront problems and needs of employees at worldwide level.
- internet in all its evolutions (web 2.0 and 3D) opens new possibilities for a strong union usage of all electronic tools to increase participation, communication and efficiency of traditional union initiatives.

But let's see a concrete example: after a long year of inconclusive bargaining to get a company level agreement (supported by traditional strikes, etc) where we were asking a small salary increase (40euro) and IBM responded with a salary increase of 6 euro (and we remember that IBM is one company with highest profit).
The last action: IBM in July cancelled in a unilateral way a national union agreement, which for many years has given the "productive result benefit" (with a loss of 700-1500 euro per year to all 5000 IBM workers in Italy).

For this reason we launched the first virtual strike on SECOND LIFE, a metaverse where many companies like IBM are investing millions of (real) dollars in this new world, to transform it in a marketing field.
But...what is exactly Second Life ? It's not a game: it's a complex ecosystem, a virtual society, a digital organism in continuous expansion and evolution. It's a cybercultural phenomenon, which is involving millions of real people. So we decided to move the union fight in this new innovative scenario: because here, for the first time, we are really with the same weapons and we can use for our advantage the technology that IBM is showing to its customer.
After one month of work, we built a global union alliance, thanks to the great help of UNI GLOBAL UNION, and political support of EMF and IMF (international and european metalworkers federations).
A taskforce of 20 people was able to organize, from zero, the first virtual protest worldwide in SL..

and so....on 27th of September 2007, 1853 -true- persons protested for 12 hours with their computer from 30 different countries, giving solidarity to IBM Italian workers.





The protest took place in 7 IBM sims on SL, and in particular on IBM Italia and IBM Business Centre. The tension and atmosphere were like a real event.... as some "disturbing people" that our security service managed.

Many protesters picketed, with many impressive colours and original templates, which flooded the vision of the strikers. The protest was real, even if the place was virtual !







Second Life had technical problems, because we reached a high number of participants.
IBM was annoyed, because we touched with the protest a real strategic place for the company: IBM closed its Business Centre to all visitors and customers, and the strikers closed a real IBM staff meeting in SL during the afternoon.

Results: now we have a bigger power to be used in our bargaining in the "real world", thanks to the extensive media coverage of this initiative: radio, tv and the blogosphere demonstrated a great receptiveness to this new way of unionised protest.

We know that the weak point of a corporation is its image: here we hit, and we opened the eyes of global public opinion on the Italian case. The participation so big at international level, created a global union alliance, which covers all the countries where the employees' representatives are fighting for the same goals: better wages, increased rights, more professionality and security for their jobs, investments on peripheral centres and learning.

Today a new international solidarity between employees is born, which uses all these new tools to fight and win the 21st century challenges.

for more info:
official protest blog: http://ibmslprotest.blogspot.com/
IBM local workscouncil: www.rsuibmvimercate.it

for more photos of the event, please see:
http://www.4shared.com/dir/4005252/4f71bfa5/BestEditedHighResPix.html


SINDACATO 2.0: come una protesta "virtuale" puo' portare ad un successo "reale"
Di Davide Barillari

Da anni ci si chiede come recuperare la fiducia verso un sindacato che purtroppo troppi lavoratori considerano "obsoleto" e "inutile". La scarsa partecipazione a scioperi e iniziative sindacali ed iniziative ci devono far aprire gli occhi sulla necessita' di ripensare il nostro modo di fare sindacato...che non puo' restare fermo alle lotte e agli schemi mentali del XX secolo, ma che senza perdere nulla della propria storia deve anche profondamente rinnovarsi per affrontare le nuove sfide che abbiamo davanti. L'obiettivo e' cercare nuovi strumenti per comunicare con i lavoratori, per creare partecipazione e sensibilizzazione, per superare i nuovi problemi che ci pone la globalizzazione (delocalizzazioni, vendorizzazioni, ecc) e allo stesso tempo coinvolgere i giovani, i telelavoristi, i fuori sede e le aziende consociate. Quello che stiamo tentando di fare all' interno di IBM, una delle piu' grandi corporation al mondo, puo' essere un modello per la costruzione del Sindacato 2.0.
Questi i due punti principali:
- nel contesto di un'"azienda integrata globalmente", solo un'alleanza sindacale internazionale puo’ affrontare problemi ed esigenze dei lavoratori a livello globale
- internet in tutte le sue evoluzioni (web 2.0 e 3D) apre nuove possibilita' per un forte utilizzo sindacale di tutti gli strumenti elettronici per aumentare la partecipazione, la comunicazione e l'efficacia delle azioni sindacali tradizionali.
Ma entriamo in un esempio concreto: dopo un lungo anno di inconcludente trattativa per portare a casa un contratto integrativo aziendale (supportato da scioperi tradizionali, raccolte firme, ecc) nel quale chiedevamo, fra le varie cose un modesto aumento di salario (circa 40euro), l'azienda risponde con un aumento di 6euro (e ricordiamo che IBM e' fra le aziende al mondo con piu’ alti profitti).
E poi la goccia che ha fatto traboccare il vaso: a luglio IBM cancella unilateralmente un accordo sindacale che da anni garantisce il "premio di risultato" (circa 700-1200 euro in meno all'anno per tutti i 5000 lavoratori in Italia).
Abbiamo quindi lanciato la prima protesta su SECOND LIFE, un metaverso dove aziende come IBM stanno investendo milioni di dollari (reali) in questa nuova frontiera sociale per trasformarla in terreno di marketing.
Ma cosa e' davvero Second Life ? Non e' un gioco: e’ un complesso esosistema, una societa’ virtuale, un organismo digitale in continua fluttuazione ed espansione. E’ un fenomeno cyberculturale che sta coinvolgendo milioni di personi reali. Abbiamo quindi deciso di portare il conflitto sindacale su questo terreno innovativo: perche' qui, per la prima volta, siamo davvero ad armi pari e possiamo utilizzare a nostro vantaggio la tecnologia di cui IBM tanto si vanta con i clienti.
Dopo un mese di lavoro, abbiamo costruito un'alleanza sindacale internazionale, grazie al preziosissimo aiuto di UNI GLOBAL UNION, e del supporto politico di FEM e FISM (federazioni europee ed internazionali dei sindacati metalmeccanici).
Una taskforce di 20 persone e' riuscita ad organizzare, da zero, la prima protesta virtuale al mondo.
E quindi: il 27 settembre 2007, 1853 -vere- persone hanno protestato per 12 ore tramite i loro computer da oltre 30 diversi paesi, mostrando solidarieta' ai lavoratori italiani IBM.
La protesta si e' svolta nelle 7 isole IBM su Second Life, e in particolare su IBM Italia e l' IBM Business Centre. La tensione e l'atmosfera erano quelli di un evento reale...compresi disturbatori che il servizio di sicurezza ha subito gestito. Cartelloni di protesta a bizzeffe, dai colori sgargianti e dalle forme a volte davvero originali, hanno affollato gli schermi dei manifestanti. La protesta era vera,a che se il luogo era virtuale!
Second Life ha avuto problemi tecnici, poiche' e’ raggiunto un elevato numero di partecipanti. Da IBM moltissimo fastidio, poiche’ abbiamo toccato su un terreno strategico dove fa piu’ male: IBM ha chiuso parte del suo piu’ importante Business Centre a tutti i visitatori e ai clienti, ed i manifestanti hanno interrotto una vera riunione di manager IBM (in una meeting room su Second Life) durante il pomeriggio.
Risultato: ora abbiamo piu’ forza per la trattativa sindacale nel mondo “reale”, grazie all’ enorme copertura massmediatica dell' iniziativa: radio, giornali, tv e tutta la blogosfera ha dato un fortissimo risalto a questa nuova forma di protesta sindacale.
Sappiamo che il punto debole di una corporation e' la sua immagine: proprio qui abbiamo colpito e siamo riusciti ad accendere i riflettori dell'opinione pubblica mondiale sul caso italiano. La partecipazione cosi' ampia a livello internazionale inoltre ha sancito la nascita di un sindacato mondiale, che si estende a tutti i paesi che come noi lottano per gli stessi obiettivi: migliori salari, maggiori diritti, professionalita', sicurezza del contratto e del posto di lavoro, investimenti su centri periferici e garanzia di formazione.
Oggi nasce una nuova forma di solidarieta' internazionale fra lavoratori, che utilizza tutti i nuovi strumenti per affrontare e vincere le sfide del XXI secolo.

per info:
l blog ufficiale della protesta: http://ibmslprotest.blogspot.com/
il sito della RSU IBM di Vimercate: www.rsuibmvimercate.it

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Second Life Activists Solidarity across sims

Second Life has become a fantastic tool to link people across the world in activism. Alice Walker said, “Activism is my rent for living on this planet.” Lots of people became activists after joining in the SL solidarity demonstrations over the past week. Friendships were forged by people from all walks of life as their AV’s held hands across sims.

SLLU activist Eremia Woodbury said, “How incredible it was to be standing in a human chain with people from the UK, Europe, USA and Japan and how encouraging that that many people were motivated to take a stand within SL.

HiggleDpiggle Snoats, who was also on the demonstrations said, 'the demos were held in various sims throughout the day, and were really well attended - with hundreds of avs dropping by, many staying for hours on end. The idea was that avs could form a 'symbolic human chain' by linking hands in a line in order to show their solidarity with the courageous demonstrators in Burma. I hadn't come across this device in SL before, and I think it really did create an added sense of camaraderie and an atmosphere of unity amongst disparate people, scattered across the world, who might otherwise have felt isolated in their responses to the violence and oppression on peaceful protestors they had been hearing about in the news. I left the events with the feeling that this is an issue which touches a very wide range of people. It also forced me to reflect on whether I could ever be as brave as the Burmese protesters.'

Plot Tracer said, "this has been a victory for the awareness raising power of Second Life. This is the kind of education and communication that Second Life should be used for. People who took part in these demonstrations should now ensure their voices are heard in Real Life. Contact your politicians and call for boycotts of Burmese goods and of Western Companies who are buoying up this disgusting, brutal regime."

Details of what can be done in real life are below.

Burma: ‘world looks other way’

The ruling military junta in Burma was still ‘working’ on its transition to democracy, reconvening its constitution talks while the world’s eyes were upon it last year.
That this is a farce of the highest order goes without saying, not least because Burma, now known as Myanmar, remains the bloodiest dictatorship in the world, where rape and torture are used routinely by government forces, where children are forcibly recruited as soldiers, where ethnic minorities are murdered en masse, where at least hundreds of thousands are internally displaced, and where people are enslaved in the tourism industry, the biggest source of income for the military government.
Not only that, but the National League for Democracy (NLD), which won the country’s last General Election in 1990 yet has never been allowed to govern, has been excluded from these constitutional talks.

Their leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, remains in detention, having been held under house arrest on and off for 18 years. On 9 October last year, she clocked up 4,000 days in detention. On 24 October, that will come to 12 years.

Says Yvette Mahon, of the Burma Campaign UK:
“These milestones come and go, yet still most of the world looks the other way.”
The United Nations, however, has at least put Burma on the agenda. But this may prove as useless as last years so called constitutional talks.
UN under-Secretary General Ibrahim Gambari, leader of the UN delegation, is worryingly naïve when it comes to Burma. Following a visit there last May, he appeared to have swallowed the junta line about moving towards democracy. He thought that Aung San Suu Kyi would be released shortly. In fact, a few days later, she was sentenced to a further year in detention.
On 29 September last year, he reported that progress was being made as two political prisoners had been released. Unfortunately, five pro-democracy leaders were arrested around the same time, “to prevent instability of the state and to prevent terrorist attacks”, according to the government.
This article originally appeared here: http://www.scottishsocialistvoice.net/lg%20back%20issues%2006/issue%20282_lg.htm


Resources:

http://www.greenleft.org.au/2007/726/37664

http://www.newsdeskspecial.co.uk/burma/

ACTION ON BURMA

What can we do to bring the Burmese military to the negotiating table?
Plenty, says activist Simon Billenness.
The story so far...
Using the tactics of the anti-apartheid campaign, activists in the US and Canada have caused Amoco, Eddie Bauer, Liz Claiborne, Macy’s and PetroCanada to withdraw from Burma. In 1995 three US cities – Berkeley, Madison and Santa Monica – passed laws boycotting companies doing business in Burma. The US Congress is currently considering the ‘Burma Freedom and Democracy Act’ that would impose economic sanctions. Meanwhile the European Union is discussing imposing tariffs on Burmese-made goods.
Challenges ahead...
But many companies continue to ignore Aung San Suu Kyi’s call for sanctions. They include ARCO (US), Texaco (US), Total (France), UNOCAL (US), Premier (UK) and Heineken (Holland). The latter plans to open up a brewery in partnership with a military-owned company.
What can I do?
� Join your national Burma Action group. Form a local Burma Action group with your friends and local activists. Brainstorm ideas for local campaigns in co-operation with your national Burma Action group.
� Boycott companies that do business in Burma. Write to the companies to tell them of your boycott and ask them why they refuse to respect the clearly stated wishes of the Burmese democracy movement.
� Organize demonstrations outside Texaco and Total gas stations. Return for a full refund any clothes marked ‘Made in Myanmar’ or ‘Made in Burma’ and tell the store why you won’t wear them.
� Ask your local councillors to join other cities in boycotting corporations in Burma. Work for the passage of a law barring the city’s purchasing managers from buying any goods or services from companies doing business in Burma. Such laws in the US have already cost these companies thousands in lost contracts. The laws also deter companies from going into Burma in the first place.
� Write to top management if you own stock in companies in Burma and attend the annual meeting to ask why they are supporting the Burmese military junta. Support shareholders’ resolutions that ask companies to withdraw from Burma.
� Ask your national parliament representatives to introduce and support legislation imposing South Africa-style economic sanctions on Burma. Ask your prime minister or president to press for economic sanctions at the United Nations.
� Do not holiday in Burma until democracy has been restored. Boycott travel agents advertising Burma holidays and tell them why you are doing so.

GROUPS

AOTEAROA
New Zealand Burma Support Group,
14 Waitati Place, Mt Albert, Auckland. Tel: (64) 9828 4855
AUSTRALIA
Australia Burma Council, PO Box 2024, Queanbeyan NSW 2620.
Tel: (616) 297 7734
E-mail: azappia@spirit.com.au

CANADA
Canadian Friends of Burma,
145 Spruce Street, Suite 206, Ottawa, Ontario, K1R 6P1. Tel: (613) 237 8056 Fax: (613) 563 0017 E-mail: cfob@web.apc.org Web: http://www.cfob.org/

THAILAND
Burma Issues, PO Box 1076,
Silom Post Office, Bangkok 10504.
E-mail: durham@mozart.inet.co.th
Web: http://www.signposts.uts.edu.au/contacts/Burma/Media/491.html

UK
The Burma Campaign UK
Third Floor, Bickerton House
Bickerton Road
London, UK
N19 5JT7
Tel: (20) 7281 7377
Fax: (20) 7272 3559
Email: info@burmacampaign.org.uk
Website: www.burmacampaign.org.uk

US
Franklin Research and Development,
711 Atlantic Avenue, Boston, MA 02111.
Tel: (617) 423 6655 Fax: (617) 482 6179
E-mail: simon_billenness@cybercom.net
Human Rights Watch/Asia, 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: (1) 212 290-4700, Fax: (1) 212 736-1300 E-mail: hrwnyc@hrw.org Web: http://www.hrw.org/asia/index.php

INTERNATIONAL
Free Burma Coalition website (with links to other Free Burma websites) http://www.freeburmacoalition.org

Worth Reading
Outrage: Burma’s struggle for democracy by Bertil Lintner, White Lotus, London and Bangkok, 1990.

Burma in Revolt: opium and insurgency since 1948 by Bertil Lintner, White Lotus, Bangkok, 1994.

Freedom from Fear by Aung San Suu Kyi, Penguin, London, revised 1995.

Guide to Burma by Nicholas Greenwood, Bradt Publications, UK, 1996.

Burma: The Challenge of Change in a Divided Society ed. Peter Carey, MacMillan Press, Basingstoke, 1996.

Ethnic Groups in Burma by Martin Smith, Anti-Slavery International, 1994.

Burma Insurgency and the Politics of Ethnicity by Martin Smith, Zed Books, London, 1991.

Burma’s Revolution of the Spirit by Alan Clements and Leslie Kean, White Orchid, Bangkok, 1995.

John Pilger’s 1996 documentary Inside Burma: Land of Fear can be purchased on video from Video Resource Unit, Central Broadcasting, Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2JP, UK. Tel: (121) 643 9898.

This originally appeared here: http://www.newint.org/issue280/action.htm

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

(from http://secondlife.techsoup.org/node/154 )

1 - Protest - Look below for details of worldwide protests. Contact US Campaign for Burma to sign up to hold a march, vigil or any sort of event in your area- thelma@uscampaignforburma.org there is also a protest being held on Burning Life sim today.

2 - Spread the word - Invite your friends to this group, email all your family and friends, write to local newspapers

3 - Write to your elected official - they will respond if enough people contact them.

4 - Wear red clothes on Friday. http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=18267307704

5 - Email the companies that still operate in Burma, their email addresses are listed here http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=24957770200&topic=3071

6 - Sign up for the petition!

•http://www.uscampaignforburma.org/action/action.html
•http://www.petitiononline.com/BUR_2007/petition.html
•http://www.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_burma/h.php/?cl=20589575

The business of oppression
How British companies fund the Burmese junta

http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.1724311.0.0.php

http://www.sundayherald.com/news/heraldnews/display.var.1724312.0.0.php

'Hypocrisy Rules the West'

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article18485.htm

More photos on flickr of demos:
http://flickr.com/photos/sl-adventures/sets/72157602215612773/

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